Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) won their eighth consecutive award for ‘Best Airport in Africa’ and third consecutive award for ‘Best Airport Staff in Africa’ at the prestigious Skytrax World Airport Awards, held last night at the Passenger Terminal EXPO in Amsterdam.
“This latest accolade is further proof of the outstanding standards and level of service we foster in the Western Cape. The award also confirms that our tourism facilities are world-class, befitting our province being a top location for visitors, domestically and from abroad. The solid growth we are seeing in tourism is integral to our economy growth, recovery, and job creation. I want to congratulate the airport’s management and staff. You have made us very proud once again.” said Premier Alan Winde.
Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, said: “I warmly congratulate the airport management and all staff members for helping to secure these awards. Cape Town International Airport is a critical enabler of our tourism and hospitality economy, and so scooping an eighth ‘Best Airport in Africa’ award will certainly contribute to boosting this important sector.”
According to an overview of Western Cape Tourism Performance in 2022, the Western Cape ranked as the top performing province in South Africa, with respect to the overseas markets, recording the highest number of tourist arrivals of all provinces, at 697 132.
Other key highlights in 2022 include:
- The Western Cape recorded the highest Total Foreign Direct Spend out of all provinces, totalling R14,4 billion;
- By source market, 6 out of the top 10 overseas markets to the Western Cape originated from Europe, with Netherlands (91% recovery) and Switzerland (94% recovery) nearly at full recovery against 2019;
- Namibia led tourist arrivals from the African continent, accounting for close to 90,000 tourists in 2022 and a year-on-year increase of 81%. This market has now fully recovered when compared to pre-pandemic levels;
- The Western Cape’s domestic market reached a total of 3.4 million trips in 2022, increasing by 290% year-on-year, a recovery of 78% over 2019; and
- Domestic trips taken to the Western Cape translated into a total spend of R12.7 billion in 2022, reaching a full recovery against 2019, at R7,7 billion, nearly double the pre-pandemic value reached in 2019.
Minister Wenger concluded: “Tourism recovery in the Western Cape remains impressive, contributing greatly to our economy and job creation, and we will continue to work to market our destination so we can attract more visitors, to further boost growth and job creation in the Province.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Western Cape Government: Department of the Premier.
